


Who's A Heretic Now?

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Pridecember 2019 [12]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Established Relationship, M/M, Magic, Pridecember, Rituals, Running Away, Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22097455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Seto never really believed in witchcraft... until he had to use it to save Atem from burning at the stake
Relationships: Atem/Kaiba Seto
Series: Pridecember 2019 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560421
Kudos: 22





	Who's A Heretic Now?

**Author's Note:**

> Day 12 of Pridecember- "Ceremony"
> 
> Seto's incantation is "Convert fire, bring us water, help me set him free"

Seto had never believed the rest of them

He had never held to the same arbitrary beleifs that witchcraft was evil that the rest of the village seemed to hold onto

But he had never wanted to participate in it either

Seto was a man of science

He accepted magic as a part of life because it undeniably _was_ , but he didn't want to actually touch it, he didn't want to have anything to do with it

He preferred to keep his studies and his attention on science and technology, even alchemy, but magic.....

Magic was just too far out of his realm

He had always told Atem that, whenever his partner had tried to convince him to give it a try

He had always shook his head in denial whenever Atem suggested that Seto assist him in a spell or some sort of potion work

He had always refused to let his hands so much as touch anything magical, no matter the reason, no matter how silly it sounded

He never wanted to let himself have anything to do with magic, plain and simple

And yet here he was now, leaning over a cauldron, dropping a few sprigs of herbs inside it

He couldn't be expected to act any differently though, could he?

Not when Atem's life was on the line, not when he was at risk of losing the only thing he had ever loved

He took a deep breath, his hands moving down to lay across the chalk outlines beneath the cauldron and close his eyes

He had memorized the passages from the spellbook, just as Atem had always told him to do

_"When conducting magic, it's best to visualize, that's why I memorize spells before casting them, so I can cast with my eyes closed, visualizing the result in my mind's eye and bringing it forth with the power of manifestation,"_

Seto's jaw tightened until he could feel an ache begin to form, but he did as he was taught and he closed his eyes

And then, he began to chant

" _Converterent ignis, aquam nos adiuva, me dimittes eum liberum, converterent ignis, aquam nos adiuva, me dimittes eum liberum, converterent ignis, aquam nos adiuva, me dimittes eum liberum, converterent ignis-"_

~+~

"Do you repent for your crimes?"

Atem's eyes narrowed, his lungs full of air, refusing to exhale just yet

"I have committed no crimes to repent for," he replied simply, his hands twitching behind him

"Then may the fire cleanse you of your sins,"

Atem was angry

He was angry not at himself for getting caught or at some invisible force for not saving him or at the universe for putting him in this position- no.... that anger was unfounded and foolish

He was angry with the people around him

Angry at their willfull ignorance

Angry at their unwillingness to accept anyone or anything different from themselves

Angry that such idiots would be the end of him

Well, he supposed, if he were to end in fire, atleast he would be reborn from the ashes

He glared out at the crowd around him, sick to his stomach over the pure _ceremony_ of this bullshit

There were probably more in attendance for his death than their were at a wedding or a funeral or a birth, or anything else of actual importance

He felt bitter and he felt _angry_

And maybe he shouldn't, but by now he couldn't help himself

The executioners moved closer with their torches

He exhaled, then inhaled again immediately after and steeled himself as the fire licked at the wood beneath his feet

....

But nothing else happened

It didn't advance upwards, it didn't inch towards him, he couldn't even feel the heat of it, and before he could possibly question why that was, the fire suddenly exploded outwards, rushing towards the crowd like a wave

People were screaming and shouting, stampeding away from the death stage and trampling over eachother in their efforts

It was the most unbelievable thing Atem had ever seen, and as someone who had been born a witch, that was truly saying alot

Before he could think to question any of it any further, the ropes suddenly fell from his wrists, with seemingly no prompting at that, and released him from the stake he had been in the process of getting burned at

Slowly, Atem stepped away from the stake, a look of true and utter amazement on his face as he looked around for any signs of what may have set him free...

Just as he was turning, he heard a familiar voice call out to him

Chills going up his spine as he turned, his heart almost thrummed out of his chest when he caught sight of his lover

"Seto..."

The other man didn't give him any chance to further his thoughts with that, he just reached out and grabbed his lover by the wrist, his footfall heavy against the ground as he hurried to drag Atem away from the major crowd, into the surrounding woods as the fire from the to-be execution burned it's way through the crowd

Moments later, as they ran, water fell from the sky

The rainstorm was so big it could have lead to a flood, and yet strangely Atem and Seto managed to stay dry, even as others nearly drowned from the downpour

"Seto.... did you..... are you responsible for this!?" the witch finally shouted, absolutely stunned, as Seto dragged him towards a broomstick, wich was waiting a few more feet away, hidden behind a tree

"Yes," he answered simply- _too_ simply if you ask Atem, but he didn't very much get a say in things at that particular moment- there would be time for that later, but not wile they were trying to escape a public execution

"H-How!?"

At the very least, he needed to know that

Give him something, _anything_ , to hold onto as they fled

"I... learned a few things from you," Seto muttered back, grabbing the broom and holding it steady as Atem climbed on, allowing him to get on behind him

The familiar sensation of Atem's magic beneath him began to take hold, and he found himself relaxing against the smaller man

Atem's magic was so much more perfected than his own, not so unstable and raw, it had been perfectly honed over the majority of his life and was well suited for pulling off the more high quality, dangerous stunts like flying that Seto's magic simply couldn't obtain yet

Hell, it was a miracle he had managed to get his first spell right- and a rather advanced one at that...

"Thank the gods, I'm glad you were paying attention to my magic all that time,"

The broom began to levitate, Seto noticing distantly that rain had begun to fall over the burning people around them- but he couldn't quite bring himself to care, he had only included the rain in his spell as a precaution in case things didn't go as planned with redirecting the fire off of Atem, personally though, he hoped the lot of them burned

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am too," he mused with a sigh, wrapping his arms around Atem's waist as the broom levitated higher and higher into the air, finally leaving the monsters on the ground behind

Seto hoped that the next village they went to would be more accepting, but if they weren't....

Well, they wouldn't have to deal with just one witch now- they'd have to deal with _two_


End file.
